Intra-Articular Administration of Autologous Purified Adipose Tissue Associated with Arthroscopy Ameliorates Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms.

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the intra-articular administration of autologous purified adipose tissue to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA) following arthroscopy. Thirty patients with radiological evidence of knee OA were recruited. A small liposuction and arthroscopic lavage and debridement were performed in the same surgical time. The harvested fat was processed intraoperatively with Lipocell (Tiss'You, RSM) to purify the adipose tissue injected into the knee. Clinical evaluations were performed with VAS, Womac, and Lequesne questionnaires before treatment and after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Pain, measured with VAS, significantly decreased, showing a reduction of 53% after 1 month and 83% after a year. Functional recovery, measured with Womac, showed an improvement of 47% after 1 month post-treatment and 84% after 1 year. No adverse effects have been observed. The intra-articular administration of purified adipose tissue associated with arthroscopic lavage and debridement is a safe and significantly effective strategy in improving the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis in up to 1 year of follow-up.

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

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